OPINIONS OF THE PRESS ON THE ‘FAMOUS SCOTS’ SERIES.
Of THOMAS CARLYLE, by H. C. Macpherson,
The British Weekly says:—
‘We congratulate the publishers on the in every way attractive appearance of the first volume of their new series. The typography is everything that could be wished, and the binding is most tasteful.... We heartily congratulate author and publishers on the happy commencement of this admirable enterprise.’
The Literary World says:—
‘One of the very best little books on Carlyle yet written, far outweighing in value some more pretentious works with which we are familiar.’
The Scotsman says:—
‘As an estimate of the Carlylean philosophy, and of Carlyle’s place in literature and his influence in the domains of morals, politics, and social ethics, the volume reveals not only care and fairness, but insight and a large capacity for original thought and judgment.’
The Glasgow Daily Record says:—
‘Is distinctly creditable to the publishers, and worthy of a national series such as they have projected.’
The Educational News says:—
‘The book is written in an able, masterly, and painstaking manner.’
Of ALLAN RAMSAY, by Oliphant Smeaton,
The Scotsman says:—
‘It is not a patchwork picture, but one in which the writer, taking genuine interest in his subject, and bestowing conscientious pains on his task, has his materials well in hand, and has used them to produce a portrait that is both lifelike and well balanced.’
The People’s Friend says:—
‘Presents a very interesting sketch of the life of the poet, as well as a well-balanced estimate and review of his works.’
The Edinburgh Dispatch says:—
‘The author has shown scholarship and much enthusiasm in his task.’
The Daily Record says:—
‘The kindly, vain, and pompous little wig-maker lives for us in Mr. Smeaton’s pages.’
The Glasgow Herald says:—
‘A careful and intelligent study.’
Of HUGH MILLER, by W. Keith Leask,
The Expository Times says:—
‘It is a right good book and a right true biography.... There is a very fine sense of Hugh Miller’s greatness as a man and a Scotsman; there is also a fine choice of language in making it ours.’
The Bookseller says:—
‘Mr. Leask gives the reader a clear impression of the simplicity, and yet the greatness, of his hero, and the broad result of his life’s work is very plainly and carefully set forth. A short appreciation of his scientific labours, from the competent pen of Sir Archibald Geikie, and a useful bibliography of his works, complete a volume which is well worth reading for its own sake, and which forms a worthy instalment in an admirable series.’
The Daily News says:—
‘Leaves on us a very vivid impression.’
Of JOHN KNOX, by A. Taylor Innes,
Mr. Hay Fleming, in The Bookman says:—
‘A masterly delineation of those stirring times in Scotland, and of that famous Scot who helped so much to shape them.’
The Freeman says:—
‘It is a concise, well written, and admirable narrative of the great Reformer’s life, and in its estimate of his character and work it is calm, dispassionate, and well balanced.... It is a welcome addition to our Knox literature.’
The Speaker says:—
‘There is vision in this book, as well as knowledge.’
The Sunday School Chronicle says:—
‘Everybody who is acquainted with Mr. Taylor Innes’s exquisite lecture on Samuel Rutherford will feel instinctively that he is just the man to do justice to the great Reformer, who is more to Scotland ‘than any million of unblameable Scotsmen who need no forgiveness.’ His literary skill, his thorough acquaintance with Scottish ecclesiastical life, his religious insight, his chastened enthusiasm, have enabled the author to produce an excellent piece of work.... It is a noble and inspiring theme, and Mr. Taylor Innes has handled it to perfection.’
Of ROBERT BURNS, by Gabriel Setoun,
The New Age says:—
‘It is the best thing on Burns we have yet had, almost as good as Carlyle’s Essay and the pamphlet published by Dr. Nichol of Glasgow.’
The Methodist Times says:—
‘We are inclined to regard it as the very best that has yet been produced. There is a proper perspective, and Mr. Setoun does neither praise nor blame too copiously.... A difficult bit of work has been well done, and with fine literary and ethical discrimination.’
Youth says:—
‘It is written with knowledge, judgment, and skill.... The author’s estimate of the moral character of Burns is temperate and discriminating; he sees and states his evil qualities, and beside these he places his good ones in their fulness, depth, and splendour. The exposition of the special features marking the genius of the poet is able and penetrating.’
Of THE BALLADISTS, by John Geddie,
The Birmingham Daily Gazette says:—
‘As a popular sketch of an intensely popular theme, Mr. Geddie’s contribution to the “Famous Scots Series” is most excellent.’
The Publishers’ Circular says:—
‘It may be predicted that lovers of romantic literature will re-peruse the old ballads with a quickened zest after reading Mr. Geddie’s book. We have not had a more welcome little volume for many a day.’
The New Age says:—
‘One of the most delightful and eloquent appreciations of the ballad literature of Scotland that has ever seen the light.’
The Spectator says:—
‘The author has certainly made a contribution of remarkable value to the literary history of Scotland. We do not know of a book in which the subject has been treated with deeper sympathy or out of a fuller knowledge.’
Of RICHARD CAMERON, by Professor Herkless,
The Freeman says:—
‘Professor Herkless has made us all his debtors by his thorough-going and unwearied research, by his collecting materials from out-of-the-way quarters, and making much that was previously vague and shadowy clear and distinct.’
The Christian News says:—
‘This volume is ably written, is full of interest and instruction, and enables the reader to form a conception of the man who in his day and generation gave his life for Christ’s cause and kingdom.’
The Dundee Courier says:—
‘In selecting Professor Herkless to prepare this addition to the “Famous Scots Series” of books, the publishers have made an excellent choice. The vigorous, manly style adopted is exactly suited to the subject, and Richard Cameron is presented to the reader in a manner as interesting as it is impressive.... Professor Herkless has done remarkably well, and the portrait he has so cleverly delineated of one of Scotland’s most cherished heroes is one that will never fade.’
Of SIR JAMES YOUNG SIMPSON, by Eve Blantyre Simpson,
The Speaker says:—
‘This little book is full of insight and knowledge, and by many picturesque incidents and pithy sayings it helps us to understand in a vivid and intimate sense the high qualities and golden deeds which rendered Sir James Simpson’s strenuous life impressive and memorable.’
The Daily Chronicle says:—
‘It is indeed long since we have read such a charmingly-written biography as this little Life of the most typical and “Famous Scot” that his countrymen have been proud of since the time of Sir Walter.... There is not a dull, irrelevant, or superfluous page in all Miss Simpson’s booklet, and she has performed the biographer’s chief duty—that of selection—with consummate skill and judgment.’
The Leeds Mercury says:—
‘The narrative throughout is well balanced, and the biographer has been wisely advised in giving prominence to her father’s great achievement—the introduction of chloroform—and what led to it.’
Of THOMAS CHALMERS, by W. Garden Blaikie,
The Spectator says:—
‘The most notable feature of Professor Blaikie’s book—and none could be more commendable—is its perfect balance and proportion. In other words, justice is done equally to the private and to the public life of Chalmers, if possible greater justice than has been done by Mrs. Oliphant.’
The Scottish Congregationalist says:—
‘No one can read the admirable and vivid sketch of his life which Dr. Blaikie has written without feeling admiration for the man, and gaining inspiration from his example.’
Of JAMES BOSWELL, by W. Keith Leask,
The Spectator says:—
‘This is one of the best volumes of the excellent “Famous Scots Series,” and one of the fairest and most discriminating biographies of Boswell that have ever appeared.’
The Dundee Advertiser says:—
‘It is the admirable manner in which the very complexity of the man is indicated that makes W. Keith Leask’s biography of him one of peculiar merit and interest.... It is not only a life of Boswell, but a picture of his time—vivid, faithful, impressive.’
The Morning Leader says:—
‘Mr. W. K. Leask has approached the biographer of Johnson in the only possible way by which a really interesting book could have been arrived at—by way of the open mind.... The defence of Boswell in the concluding chapter of his delightful study is one of the finest and most convincing passages that have recently appeared in the field of British biography.’
Of TOBIAS SMOLLETT, by Oliphant Smeaton,
The Dundee Courier says:—
‘It is impossible to read the pages of this little work without being struck not only by its historical value, but by the fairness of its criticism.’
The Weekly Scotsman says:—
‘The book is written in a crisp and lively style.... The picture of the great novelist is complete and lifelike. Not only does Mr. Smeaton give a scholarly sketch and estimate of Smollett’s literary career, he constantly keeps the reader in conscious touch and sympathy with his personality, and produces a portrait of the man as a man which is not likely to be readily forgotten.’
The Newsagent and Booksellers’ Review says:—
‘Tobias Smollett was versatile enough to deserve a distinguished place in any gallery of gifted Scots, such as the one to which Mr. Smeaton has contributed this clever and lifelike portrait.’
Of FLETCHER OF SALTOUN, by W. G. T. Omond,
The Edinburgh Evening News says:—
‘The writer has given us in brief compass the pith of what is known about an able and patriotic if somewhat dogmatic and impracticable Scotsman who lived in stormy times.... Mr. Omond describes, in a clear, terse, vigorous way, the constitution of the Old Scots Parliament, and the part taken by Fletcher as a public man in the stormy debates that took place prior to the union of the Parliaments in 1707. This part of the book gives an admirable summary of the state of Scottish politics and of the national feeling at an important period.’
The Leeds Mercury says:—
‘Unmistakably the most interesting and complete story of the life of Fletcher of Saltoun that has yet appeared. Mr. Omond has had many facilities placed at his disposal, and of these he has made excellent use.’
The Speaker says:—
‘Mr. Omond has told the story of Fletcher of Saltoun in this monograph with ability and judgment.’
Of THE BLACKWOOD GROUP, by Sir George Douglas,
The Scotsman says:—
‘In brief compass, Sir George Douglas gives us skilfully blended together much pleasantly written biography and just and judicious criticism.’
The Weekly Citizen says:—
‘It need not be said that to every one interested in the literature of the first half of the century, and especially to every Scotsman so interested, “The Blackwood Group” is a phrase abounding in promise. And really Sir George Douglas fulfils the promise he tacitly makes in his title. He is intimately acquainted not only with the books of the different members of the “group,” but also with their environment, social and otherwise. Besides, he writes with sympathy as well as knowledge.’
Of NORMAN MACLEOD, by John Wellwood,
The Star says:—
‘A worthy addition to the “Famous Scots Series” is that of Norman Macleod, the renowned minister of the Barony of Glasgow, and a man as typical of everything generous and broadminded in the State Church in Scotland as Thomas Guthrie was in the Free Churches. The biography is the work of John Wellwood, who has approached it with proper appreciation of the robustness of the subject.’
The Scots Pictorial says:—
‘Its general picturesqueness is effective, while the criticism is eminently liberal and sound.’
The Daily Free Press says:—
‘It is one of the great merits of Mr. Wellwood’s book that it is wholly free from dulness. His attention once secured, the reader is carried irresistibly along till he has finished the whole of the fascinating story.’
The Daily Chronicle says:—
‘Mr. Wellwood is in thorough sympathy with his hero, and has given us in this little volume a graphic and picturesque sketch of him.’
Of SIR WALTER SCOTT, by George Saintsbury,
The Pall Mall Gazette says:—
‘Mr. Saintsbury’s miniature is a gem of its kind.... Mr. Saintsbury’s critique of the Waverley Novels will, I venture to think, despite all that has been written upon them, discover fresh beauties for their admirers.’
The Morning Leader says:—
‘A fresh and charming biography.’
The St. James’s Gazette says:—
‘Apart from Lockhart, we do not know any one who has given a better picture of Scott than Mr. Saintsbury, and there is no sounder and more comprehensive estimate of his work.’
The Scots Magazine says:—
‘The little volume is bright, informative reading, and is a worthy addition to a capital and much-needed series.’
Of KIRKCALDY OF GRANGE, by Louis A. Barbé,
The Scotsman says:—
‘Mr. Barbé’s sketch sticks close to the facts of his life, and these are sought out from the best sources and are arranged with much judgment, and on the whole with an impartial mind.’
The Glasgow Herald says:—
‘A conscientious and thorough piece of work, showing wide and accurate knowledge.’
The Speaker says:—
‘This scholarly monograph seeks to unravel the seeming contradictions of a great career, as well as to show that Kirkcaldy of Grange was a sincere patriot.’
The Bookseller says:—
‘Mr. Barbé has put together a very instructive and interesting account of his career.’
Of ROBERT FERGUSSON, by Dr. A. B. Grosart,
The Westminster Gazette says:—
‘One of the most interesting of the “Famous Scots” Series is devoted to “Robert Fergusson” the poet, to whom “the greater Robert,” as he freely acknowledged, was under so many obligations. Dr. Grosart is perhaps the best living authority on all that relates to the bard of “The Farmer’s Ingle,” and he gives many new facts and corrects a number of erroneous statements that have hitherto obtained currency respecting him. We have read it with genuine pleasure.’
The British Weekly says:—
‘It is a creditable, useful, and painstaking book, a genuine contribution to Scottish literary history.’
The North British Daily Mail says:—
‘The little volume is a thoroughly competent piece of work, and forms a valuable addition to an excellent series.’
The Weekly Scotsman says:—
‘The book will be welcomed as a worthy addition to that wonderfully entertaining and instructive series of biographies, the “Famous Scots.”
Of JAMES THOMSON, by William Bayne,
The Daily News says:—
‘A just appreciation of Thomson as poet and dramatist, and an interesting record of the conditions under which he rose to fame, as also of his friendships with the great ones of the eighteenth century.’
Literature says:—
‘The story of Thomson’s claim to the disputed authorship of “Rule Britannia” is sustained by his countryman with spirit, and in our judgment with success.’
The Publishers’ Circular says:—
‘The book is one which every lover of Thomson will welcome, and which students of poetry cannot well afford to neglect.’
The Spectator says:—
‘This is one of the compactest and best written volumes of the useful series of biographies to which it belongs.’
Of MUNGO PARK, by T. Banks Maclachlan,
The Leeds Mercury says:—
‘We owe to Mr. Maclachlan not only a charming life-story, if at times a pathetic one, but a vivid chapter in the romance of Africa. Geography has no more wonderful tale than that dealing with the unravelling of the mystery of the Niger.’
The Speaker says:—
‘Mr. Maclachlan recounts with incisive vigour the story of Mungo Park’s heroic wanderings and the services which he rendered to geographical research.’
The Kilmarnock Herald says:—
‘It is a thrilling story, powerfully told, of one of Scotland’s noblest sons.’
The Educational News says:—
‘Mungo Park has his record here summarised in such a manner as to win, inform, and delight.’
Of DAVID HUME, by Henry Calderwood,
The Speaker says:—
‘The little book is a virile recruit of the “Famous Scots Series.”’
‘This monograph is both picturesque and critical.’
The New Age says:—
‘To the many students of philosophy in Scotland a special interest will attach to Professor Calderwood’s sketch of David Hume from the fact that it is the last piece of work done by its lamented author; and very pleasing it is to note the fairness and charity of the judgment passed by the most evangelical of philosophers upon the man who used to be denounced as the prophet of infidelity.’
The Scotsman says:—
‘Fulfils admirably well the purpose of the writer, which was that of presenting in clear, fair, and concise lines Hume and his philosophy to the mind of his countrymen and of the world.’
The Publishers’ Circular says:—
‘This biography is well written, and it will no doubt be considered, as it really is, one of the best of the “Famous Scots Series.”’
Of WILLIAM DUNBAR, by Oliphant Smeaton,
The Speaker says:—
‘Mr. Smeaton looks narrowly into the characteristics of Dunbar’s genius, and does well to insist on the almost Shakespearian range of his gifts. He contends that in elegy, as well as in satire and allegory, Dunbar’s place in English literature is amongst the great masters of the craft of letters.’
The Glasgow Herald says:—
‘This is a bright and picturesquely written monograph, presenting in readable form the results of the critical research undertaken by Laing, Schipper, and the other scholars who during the present century have done so much for the elucidation of the greatest of our early Scottish poets.’
The Bailie says:—
‘A graphic and informed account not only of the man and his works, but of his immediate environment and of the times in which he lived.’
The Bookman says:—
‘The book is an admirable biography, one of the liveliest and most readable in the series.’
Of SIR WILLIAM WALLACE, by Professor Murison,
The Speaker says:—
‘Mr. Murison is to be congratulated on this little book. After much hard and discriminative labour he has pieced together by far the best, one might say the only rational and coherent, account of Wallace that exists.’
Mr. William Wallace in the Academy says:—
‘Professor Murison has acquitted himself of his task like a patriot.’
‘Capital reading.’
The Daily News says:—
‘A scholarly and impartial little volume, one of the best yet published in the “Famous Scots Series.”’
The Pall Mall Gazette says:—
‘A bright little book which will be much relished north of the Tweed, and also among those Scottish exiles who are supposed to be pining away their lives south of it.’
The New Age says:—
‘Anyhow, here, at least, we have his life-story—a most difficult tale to tell—recorded with a painstaking research and in a spirit of appreciative candour which leave almost nothing to be desired.’
Of ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, by Margaret Moyes Black,
The Banffshire Journal says:—
‘The portrait, drawn as it is by a loving hand, is absolutely photographic in its likeness, and the literary criticisms with which the book is pleasantly studded are alike careful and judicious, and with most of them the ordinary reader will cordially agree.’
The Bookman says:—
‘This little book is sure to get a welcome.’
The Speaker says:—
‘Sense and sensibility are in these pages, as well as knowledge and delicate discrimination.’
The Outlook says:—
‘Certainly one of the most charming biographies we have ever come across. The writer has style, sympathy, distinction, and understanding. We were loth to put the book aside. Its one fault is that it is too short.’
The Daily Free Press says:—
‘One of the most charming sketches—it is scarcely a biography—of a literary man that could be found has just been published as the latest number of the “Famous Scots Series”—“R. Louis Stevenson,” by Miss Black. The excellence of the little book lies in its artless charm, in its loose and easy style, in its author’s evident love and delight in her subject.’
Of THOMAS REID, by Professor Campbell Fraser,
The North British Daily Mail says:—
‘A model of sympathetic appreciation and of succinct and lucid exposition.’
The Scotsman says:—
‘Professor Campbell Fraser’s volume on Thomas Reid is one of the most able and valuable of an able and valuable series. He supplies what must be allowed to be a distinct want in our literature, in the shape of a brief, popular, and accessible biography of the founder of the so-called Scottish School of Philosophy, written with notable perspicuity and sympathy by one who has made a special study of the problems that engaged the mind of Reid.’
The Glasgow Herald says:—
‘We do not know any volume of the “Famous Scots Series” that deserves or is likely to receive a heartier welcome from the educated public than this life and estimate of Reid by Professor Campbell Fraser. The writer is no amateur, but a past-master in the subject of Scottish philosophy, and it has evidently been a real pleasure to him to expiscate quite a number of new facts regarding the professional and private life of its best representative.’
The Pall Mall Gazette says:—
‘The little work is of high excellence—comprehensive in view, dear in exposition, and exemplary in literary style.’
The Saturday Review says:—
‘Mr. Campbell Fraser has added to the “Famous Scots Series” an excellent little book on Reid and his philosophy, dealing lucidly with the philosopher’s relations with contemporary thinkers and with modern thought.’
Of POLLOK AND AYTOUN, by Rosaline Masson,
The Spectator says:—
‘One of the most artistically conceived and gracefully written of the series to which it belongs.’
The Glasgow Herald says:—
‘The facts of the two lives are presented by Miss Masson with intelligence and spirit, and the volume will take a good place among the rest of the series.’
Of ADAM SMITH, by Hector C. Macpherson,
The Speaker says:—
‘This little book is written with brains and a degree of courage which is in keeping with its convictions. It has vision, too, and that counts for righteousness, if anywhere, in political economy.’
The Echo says:—
‘Smith’s life is briefly and clearly told, and there is a good deal of independent criticism interspersed amidst the chapters on the philosopher’s two principal treatises. Mr. Macpherson’s analysis of Smith’s economic teaching makes excellent reading.’
The Scots Pictorial says:—
‘One of the best of an admirable series.’
Mr. Herbert Spencer says:—
‘I have learned much from your sketch of Adam Smith’s life and work. It presents the essential facts in a lucid and interesting way. Especially am I glad to see that you have insisted upon the individualistic character of his teaching. It is well that his authority on the side of individualism should be put forward in these days of rampant Socialism, when the great mass of legislative measures extend public agency and restrict private agency; the advocates of such measures being blind to the fact that by small steps they are bringing about a state in which the citizen will have lost all freedom.’
The Glasgow Herald says:—
‘A sound and able piece of work, and contains a fair and discerning estimate of Smith in his essential character as the author of the doctrine of Free Trade, and consequently of the modern science of economics.’
Of ANDREW MELVILLE, by William Morison,
The Spectator says:—
‘The story is well told, and it takes one through a somewhat obscure period with which it is well to be acquainted. No better guide could be found than Mr. Morison.’
The Speaker says:—
‘The great aspects of his career as Principal of Glasgow and then of St. Andrews—it has been said that the European renown of the Scottish Universities began with Melville—are admirably discussed in this virile, and at the same time critical monograph.’
The North British Daily Mail says:—
‘Mr. Morison outlines the main facts of Melville’s life-work with singular lucidity and point. He displays a full and accurate knowledge of the ecclesiastical history of the period, and his judgments are invariably sound. Altogether the book is one of the best of the series.’
The British Weekly says:—
‘Mr. Morison writes with full knowledge of Scottish history, and also with what is equally important, perfect sympathy with the strong men who made it.’
The Academy says:—
‘Mr. Morison has told Melville’s story with a care for accurate history.’
Of JAMES FREDERICK FERRIER, by E. S. Haldane,
The Scotsman says:—
‘Ferrier the man, and even Ferrier the professor, Miss Haldane brings near to us, an attractive and interesting figure.’
The Pall Mall Gazette says:—
‘His splendid and transcendental thought and fine eloquence were so inspiring and stimulating, and his personal charm was so fascinating, that a study of the man must engage the sympathies of every student. The author, who is already known for admirable work in the philosophical field, has written an excellent exposition of Ferrier’s views.’
Of KING ROBERT THE BRUCE, by Professor Murison,
The Morning Leader says:—
‘Professor Murison has given us a book for which not only Scots, but every man who can appreciate a record of great days worthily told will be grateful.’
The Aberdeen Journal says:—
‘The story of Bruce is brilliantly told in clear and flexible language, which draws the reader on with the interest of a novel. Professor Murison is a most impartial and thoroughly reliable critic, and may be followed with confidence by all who desire a truthful and unprejudiced picture of this greatest of the Scots.’
The Leeds Mercury says:—
‘A worthy, as it is a necessary, addition to an admirable series.’
The Speaker says:—
‘He has sifted for himself State records, official papers, old chronicles, and has come to his own conclusions without the aid of modern historians. Therein lies the value of the book: it is a fresh, independent, critical estimate of a man who emancipated Scotland from a thraldom which was almost worse than death. Bruce’s career from first to last is described in these pages with uncompromised fidelity, and no attempt is made to gloss over the faults of a masterful nature.’
The Morning Leader says:—
‘Professor Murison has given us a book for which not only Scots, but every man who can appreciate a record of great days worthily told, will be grateful.’
Of JAMES HOGG, THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD, by Sir George Douglas,
The Scotsman says:—
‘Sir George Douglas has contributed a gracefully written and well-knit biography of the Ettrick Shepherd to the “Famous Scots” Series. It follows in a spirit of kindly criticism the steps of Hogg through the shadow and sunshine, the failures and successes of his career, from the hillsides of Yarrow and Ettrick to the more slippery places of the world of literature, and back again to the solitude of the forest; and it gives us judicious and sympathetic appreciations of his work in prose and in verse, much of it already fallen into unmerited neglect.’
The New Age says:—
‘A capital biography—full, careful, discriminating, and sympathetic.’
The Daily News says:—
‘The story of James Hogg’s manly, honourable battle with poverty, and of his literary achievement, is excellently told by Sir George Douglas.’
The Expository Times says:—
‘The book is accurate, and must have cost research, but it is written in a pleasant gossipy manner, quite as if Hogg had flung the flavour of Hogg’s writings over his biographer.’
Saint Andrew says:—
‘We have no hesitation in saying that this valuable and interesting volume will be welcomed by the Scots people as heartily as any that have preceded it.’
Of THOMAS CAMPBELL, by J. Cuthbert Hadden,
The Scotsman says:—
‘A very useful, compact, well-digested, and well-written account of Campbell’s career and literary labours.’
Transcriber’s Note
Irregular or archaic spelling and irregular hyphenation are retained. Minor changes to punctuation, in the index and in section headings, have been made without comment.
Footnotes have been moved to the end of the book.
In the Daily Chronicle’s review of SIR JAMES YOUNG SIMPSON, by Eve Blantyre Simpson, “superflous” has been changed to “superfluous”.